Bracing device for spring-bed structures



May 21, 1929. w. 'LATHROP 1,714, 6

BRACING DEVICE FOR SPRING BED STRUCEURES I Filed Dec. 17, 1926 7 closing border wire or frame;

Patented May 21, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT orricE;

WILLARD OLLATHROZ or CINCINNATI, 0 1 01;

BRACING nEvIcn FoR-srRINe-nED srauc'runas Applicatioiifild December 17, 1926. Serial No. 155,535. r

ed to lie down upon them, or when, other-1 wise,.making a shifting-position on them and thus throwing them out oftheir proper normal desired perpendicular actuating-alignment in their supporting or containing frame,

To remedy the said fault and to otherwise prevent lateral or distorting torsional longitudinal actuation of the spirals, or any undue sagging, spreading, or sidewise-movement thereof, in a simple, convenient, economical and effective manner, are the prime and essential objects and features of my invention herein, which is composed of a resilientwire bracemember having an angulated pair of some what similar straight spring-arms that are integrally-connected by means of a coil-member and suitably located in the ordinary assembly or cluster of vertically-supported spirals so that'one spring-arm (the longer of the pair) is connected to the heavy border-wire or frame in the upper deck of the spring-structure and the other spring-arm (the shorter of the pair) is connected to the transverse slats bars located in the lower deck of said springstructure, such brace-member being provided in multiple over the spiral-clustered interior of the spring-structure, within its upper and lower decks and extending both laterally and longitudinally in a somewhat strong resilient manner so that the spirals are supported up right and there is no motion in them other than a cushioning, resilient or elastic one, and

thereby preventing any undue sagging, spreading or sidewise-movement of the spirals at any time while in use, and making up a bedspring structure that is at once simple, economical and effective against all sidewise collapse and also, preserving a straight perpendicular riding of the assembled spirals withintheir connecting tie-wires used in thein- In the accompanying'sheet of drawings Figure 1 is a plan view of a spring-bed structure embodying my invention, showing it in fragmentary form so as to illustrate the four corners thereof and as many of thebrace-" members in the said corners for stabilizing the structure in those parts thereof more particularly; Fig. 2, a transverse section taken" on the irregular angled dotted-line 2, 2, of Fig. 1; andFig. 3, a detail perspective view of the peculiar structure of brace-member em bodying the invention herein, showingit, apartfrom the bed-spring structure.

A indicates'the main-frame or 'theheavy border-Wire comprising sameand formed, as

usual, in rectangula r outline, in bed-spring structures of the'classfirst abovenamed.

Bf indicates the usual angle-iron frame or lower deck to which is connected by means of rivets C, the'opposite ends of the series of transverse slat-bars D, in the ordinary manner. V I V In 2 is seen how the said slat-bars D are each madeof thin bar metalthat is arranged longitudinal edge-up and with its opposite ends half-twisted into a horizontal attachingmeniber (Z that is secured by means of said rivets C to the underside of the upper horizontal portion 1) of saidflangle-iron B, said rivets also securing the lower end of the outermost or border rows of upright spirals E of the rows of spirals that form the cluster or assembly of springs used in the bed-spring structure, F indicating the main body of the cluster or array of internal spirals within the limits of said outermost border-rows E, as

cu stoniary.

To properly uphold all the spirals in a pen pendicular state is the prime ob ect of my invention herein and it is best accomplished by means of a suitable number of resilient bracearms'scattered over the interior of the bedspring structure, as partly shown in the fragmentary or sectioned bed spring structure seen in Fig, 1, the vspecific form of brace-member or brace-arm unit,las it were, being especially well shown in Fig. 3 and composed of a main or longresilient spring-arm G whosei'nner end is integrally-coiled at H and thence extends onwardly and at an acute-angle into a lesser or auxiliary'resilient spring-arm I, with a U-shape-bend or bight J lying between the said coiled-portion H and the outerpendent hook-end a. The extreme outer end of the said 'inain spring-arm Gr is formediintoa "hook-eye 9 that encircles'the border-wire A engagement with the lower end of thespiral' it F and in contact-engagement with the vertical face of the upper edge of the cross-slat D, said contact engagement being as seen (dotted) in Fig. 2, but the end of the arm I being caught in the lower coil or base of the spiral F, as seen in l.

In use, the expansive stress of the coil-connected spring or resilient brace-arms G and I owing to the main arm G being pivotallyconnected to the border-wire A and the said arm G being arranged at an oblique or inclined-line down toward the coil-portion H for placing the saidauxiliarymember I at the foot of the brace device and anchoring or resting on the upper edge of the slat-bar D, forms a thrust or take'up that counteracts any tends enoy of the vertical spirals to sag or collapse sidewise, but, on the other hand, determines the full perpendicular resilient support and action of all the spirals within the border frame of the spring-structure for the proper cushioning-eiiect of the bed for the occupant thereof. The slanting arrangement of the brace-arms fully effects the perpendicular action of the upper deck of the spring-structu re on its lower deck and no lateral movement of any consequence results or can take place.

In a bed-spring structure, the combination witha main or border frame, a lower angleiron sub-frame, a series of transverse slat-bars mounted on the said lower angle-iron subframe, an inner cluster of upright spirals mounted on the said transverse slat-bars,

. means by which upper coils of the spirals are connected together and to the said'border frame, and a plurality of resilient expansible brace-me1nbers distributed throughout the said inner cluster of spirals and adapted to sustain the latter and the border spirals in a perpendicular manner against sagging or any undue lateral movement, and each bracemember comprising a main long spring-arm, a U-shaped bight, an integral connecting coil between the arm and the bight, an auxiliary short spring-ar1n extendin beyond the big-ht and lying at an angle to the main arm, said main arm having means by which it is atsignature.

WILLARD O. LATHROP. 

